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Bagno di Romagna - Città di Castello

Bagno di Romagna - Citta di Castello (km 54)

At 15 kilometres from Sansepolcro, Città di Castello is reached following the E 45 south-wards. The upper Tiber valley is close since it is in Umbria. The Tiber flows by the walls of the town dominated by the cylindrical bell-tower of the Dome and by the high and thin Civic Tower. Many industrial activities are present in the area (typographies, metallurgical and mechanical in-dustries, furniture industries) besides art and architecture treasures. The urban plan was influenced by the position of impressive palaces and gardens owned by noble families (Vitelli, Cappelletti, Bondi-Mancini, Bruni, Tommasini, Bufalini, Bourbon del Monte, Gualtierotti). The medieval style blends to the Tuscan Renaissance: majestic churches (St Domenico, St Francesco, St Maria Maggiore, Madonna delle Grazie) and large squares were built. The Dome is Romanesque, has a gothic doorway and a quite unfinished facade. The upper church is clearly a sixteenth century building sheltering the panel entitled "Cristo in gloria" painted by Rosso Fiorentino in 1530. The parsonage leads to the Museo del Capitolo (the Chapter’s museum) where precious works are on exhibit: the "Tesoro di Canoscio" is a rare gathering of Paleo-Christian Eucharistical vases. Palazzo Vitelli is the seat of the Pinacoteca comunale (Commune picture gal-lery) with paintings especially of the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries by Raffaello, Signorelli, Ghiberti, Della Robbia. The amazing facade of the building was decorated following Vasari’s car-toons. This treasure is enriched by the works that Alberto Burri has given to his home town. The works are gathered in the fifteenth century Palazzo Albizzini and in the former Seccatoi Tabacchi Rignaldello providing the largest existing exhibition of his production. Great vanguard master and original painter, Burri has experimented new techniques. These recent works make Città di Castello the European capital of modern art.